Tent Rocks, New Mexico

Tent Rocks

The local indians call it Kasha-Katuwe, which means the same "Tent Rocks".

This is one of the places I keep coming back. I visited this place 10x? I honestly do not know. I remember vividly the first visit - 1996. This place was completely unknown, no tourist books mentioned it, there were no signs, no parking lot. I wandered around the area for hours before I discovered the entry to the narrow slot.

Then the beauty of this place spread out, it got listed on websites, tourist books, hiking books, become developed, they started charging fees, developed a nice parking area, placed signs, trails, toilets, benches along the trail, and the place became crowded. It is National Monument now, and since the fall of 2009 no dogs are allowed. You are not even allowed to have a dog inside your car. They will turn you around at the pay area. (I posted some photos of Duchess enjoying this place during the time when dogs were freely admitted).

Location

It is located 40 miles southwest of Santa Fe and 55 miles northeast of Albuquerque. There is a big sing on Interstate 25 (the main highway in the state connecting the largest city Albuquerque with the capital city Santa Fe).
Take exit for Santo Domingo/Cochiti Lake Recreation Area (exit 259) off I-25. Follow the signs on NM 22 to Cochiti Pueblo and signs for Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks.
You will have to take a FR 266, which is a gravel road, well kept and no high clearance or 4WD are necessary.

Red Tape

You have to pay 5$ entry fee at the entrance station per vehicle.
Or, if you know the Jemez area really well, there is an access on a rough dirt road though Jemez. This rough dirt road is closed during the winter, and it takes a long time (roughly 2 hrs).

Images

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